Safe mode in Android is a way to boot your Android device with only the apps and settings that it came with out of the box. This means that when you boot your Android phone into safe mode, all third-party apps, widgets downloaded and set up, and any related system modifications are removed, leaving only the default system apps would be loaded.

Why does Safe Mode matter?

Safe mode is a quick and easy way to detect any problems that your device might be experiencing. Examples could include battery drain, performance degradation, or increased usage of data. It can also be used in cases where your phone is infected by malware or some kind of malicious program and you need to identify and remove it before it affects or steals your data.

In order to determine whether an app me be causing an issue on your Android phone, or to rule out a hardware-related problem, you can boot your Android phone into Safe Mode and use it for some time.

If you still witness the same problem(s) when using Safe Mode, it might mean that there is some issue with the hardware of your device. But, if your device is works without problems, it likely means that a third-party app installed on your device is the cause.

Once you have identified a software-related problem, you can boot into normal mode and investigate the apps you have recently installed or updated to find and uninstall the culprit. You can also directly uninstall the suspicious app from Safe Mode if you find out which one was causing the problems.

How to boot into Safe Mode

Here is how you can boot into, and out of, safe mode on your Android phone.

This can be done in two different ways based on versions of Android and your device model.

Method 1

1. Long press the hardware power button on your Android phone until the power off menu appears.
2. Long press on the software power off button on your screen until you get the safe mode option.
3. Your Android device will now reboot and enter into the safe mode. You can verify this by noticing the safe mode text at the bottom left corner of your device.

Method 2

If you are unable to enter the safe mode on your Android device by using the above method, follow the below steps.

1. Turn off your Android device by holding the power button and selecting the power off option from the menu.
2. Once your device has been powered off, long press the power button to turn it back on and wait till you see the device manufacturer or the Android logo.
3. Once you see the logo, press and hold the volume down button until your device reboots.
4. Release the power button once your device has rebooted and you will now be entered into the safe mode.

How to exit the safe mode on Android phone

Unlike entering into the safe mode, exiting from it is common for all Android devices and it is quite simple. Just follow the below steps to exit from the safe mode on your Android phone.

1. Hold the power button on your device until you get the power off menu.
2. Select the restart option from the menu.
3. Your device will now be rebooted and exit from the safe mode and boot into the normal mode.

If you are still having problems with your device, even after uninstalling the suspicious apps from your Android phone after exiting from the safe mode, before concluding that it might be a hardware or an Android operating system related issue, try doing a factory reset once.

Once you have done a factory reset, try using your device for a while to check whether the problem still persists. If yes, you may have to send your device to the manufacturer to perform further diagnosis.

If you have any questions about the processes listed above, let us know in the comments section below.

Since its debut Android has always had a ton of customization options. Key among the cooler features brought about in the first years was the introduction of Live Wallpapers. Whereas initial versions of Android had a few limitations on what could be used as a Live Wallpaper, advances in hardware and software give users the ability to set an actual video as your device’s wallpaper.

If you’ve got a favorite video clip you’d like to use as a wallpaper on Android device, you’re in luck. We’ll show you how to do so in a few easy steps. You can set a wallpaper for both the home screen and lock screen of your phone.

Step 1: Download VideoWall

First, download and install the Android app VideoWall on the Android device where you want to set the wallpaper.

Step 2: Select the video

Open the app, and then select the ‘Video file’ option to select the video which you want to set as wallpaper from your Gallery or your file manager app.

Make sure that the video you want to select is in the common and popular MP4 or 3GP format. Otherwise, it might not be detected by the app.

Step 3: Trim the video file

Once you have selected the video file, the next step is to either trim the file to only set a portion of it as a wallpaper or just leave it as it is to set the complete video as a wallpaper on a loop.

If you chose to trim the video file before setting it as a wallpaper on your Android device, you can use the trimming slider feature of the app to just select the portion of the video you would like to view in your wallpaper.

Step 4: Set the video wallpaper

Once you have selected the file and trimmed it, just click on ok to proceed and select the ‘Set wallpaper’ option in the next page to set the selected video as a wallpaper on your Android phone.

You can either select to set this video as a wallpaper on the home screen or lock screen of your device or on both based on your preference.

Step 5: Modify aspect ratio settings for the video wallpaper

While the aforementioned app allows you to set a video as a wallpaper on your Android device, certain videos may not work without adjustment. For instance some which were shot in landscape mode or are of a different aspect ratio might be stretched to make them fit on your screen, thus making the wallpaper look weird.

To solve this problem, you can try using the Android app called Video Live Wallpaper from the Google Play Store. While this app does not have the option to let you trim your video, it does have a ‘Keep Aspect Ratio’ option. Selecting this automatically crops your video to fit the aspect ratio of your screen, thus fitting even landscape videos perfectly.

For Samsung users

If you are a Samsung user, you don’t even need to install any additional Android apps on your device to set a video as wallpaper. While this feature on Samsung devices could only be used for setting a video wallpaper on the lock screen of the device, it is still worth knowing that Samsung supports this by default.

To set a video wallpaper on the lock screen of your Samsung device, open the desired video in your Samsung Gallery app and click on the options icon at the top right corner of the screen. From here, select the ‘Set as Wallpaper’ option.

In the next screen, you can either directly set the wallpaper on the lock screen of your device or use the Edit option to trim it before setting it as the wallpaper. Note that this feature could only be used from the Samsung Gallery app and might not work on any other third-party Gallery apps.

Keep in mind that setting a video as a wallpaper on your Android looks cool and unique but it might have a negative impact on the battery life and the performance. This is especially the case if your device has a slower processor or a battery with less capacity.

You might also face some usability issues if you have a lot of widgets set up on your home screen. It is advisable to remove the video wallpaper if you face any of these issues; usability is more important than customizability.

Having your phone stolen or losing it by mistake can be an awful experience, especially if you have a lot of personal data and information stored directly on your device.

If you are reading this article because you or someone you know lost or had a phone stolen, fear not. There are some things you can do to track, reset, or lock your handset.

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to track and find the exact location of your lost Android phone, perform a remote wipe of data, or ring it phone at full volume. Yep, even if it is in silent mode.

In the unfortunate event something happens where you cannot find your phone, follow the below steps as soon as possible.

How to find your phone

Android smartphones come built-in with a feature called Find My Phone, which can be used for tracking the location of your phone and ring it from a remote location by using your Google account. This is a default feature on most modern Android smartphones, so you need not download or install any additional app to make use of this feature.

Keep in mind that this feature will accurately work only if your Android device is connected to a WiFi or a mobile network and your location settings are set to high accuracy. However, you might at least get an approximate location of your Android phone even if the location settings are turned off or are set to phone only or battery saving modes.

To use this feature either search for ‘Find my phone’ on Google or go to the website and then log in with the same Google account that you have used on your lost or stolen Android device. You can also download the Find My Device Android app from here.

Once you have logged in to the Google account, the Find My Device feature will almost instantly pinpoint the location of your Android device and allow you to track it on Google Maps.

You can now find the current location where your lost or stolen device is at and can visit that place and use the ‘Play Sound’ option to ring your device at full volume to exactly know where it is. This feature will work even if your phone is on silent mode.

In the unfortunate case that you are unable to find your Android device, you can also use the ‘Secure device’ and ‘Lock device’ options to either lock your device with a password and log out of your Google account or simply erase all the data on your device and perform a factory reset.

This will prevent anyone who might have your stolen phone from getting access to your personal data.  You can still have access to almost all of your personal data as Google automatically takes a backup of your photos, videos, contacts, calendar entries, and even your messages.

Find My Mobile – Samsung

If you are a Samsung device user you can perform a few additional options if you use the Find my mobile feature by Samsung. By visiting the website and signing in using your Samsung mobile account, you can track your phone.

With Samsung’s Find My Mobile feature you can perform additional actions like remotely backing up all your data (media, documents, and installed apps) and retrieving your calls and message logs to track any potential calls or messages made by the person who stole or found your phone.

The ‘Lock’ option will not only lock your device but will also allow you to display a message on your screen and prevent your phone from being manually powered off.

You can also use the ‘Extend battery life’ feature to set your phone to the maximum power saving mode to ensure that it doesn’t run out of battery while you are trying to track its location. This feature will almost disable the usage of all apps and services on your device, except the ones that are required for tracking your device.

Samsung also allows you to set up “Guardians” by providing contact details of your friend’s or family members.

What if you cannot find your phone?

In some unfortunate cases, you might not be able to track or locate your phone even after trying the aforementioned methods. Your phone’s battery might be dead or the device may have even gotten damaged. What if you cannot find your phone? What to do now?

Report your phone as stolen

The first thing you can do is to report to the police that your phone has been stolen and get any necessary documents needed for filing an insurance claim.

The police might ask for details such as your phone’s make and model, the exact location where it was stolen, and/or your phone number and IMEI. Make sure you have any of these details before you file the report.

You can find all of this info on the box your phone came in, including your unique IMEI number.

Terminate or pause your mobile service

You might also need to report to your carrier and mobile service provider and request them to terminate or pause your mobile phone service. This can prevent someone from using your phone or SIM card to make calls or send messages.

You might also try requesting your service provider to use any GPS tracking service that they have to aid in tracking your phone. Different service providers have varying policies and tools but it might be worth a try as a last resort.